Flower of Life

According to the National Cancer Institute (INCA), the Brazilian Amazon has 3 times more cases than the country’s average (up to 46 cases/100,000 women), due to the lack of infrastructure and information. In the Amazonian region there is low female literacy, causing the lack of awareness the importance of annual cervical cancer prevention exams. This prompted the State Department of Health to take action, that slightly reduced the statistics in recent years, but that effort wasn’t enough. This could be explained by the use of booklets, posters and other advertisements that simply don't work in this region. Since people in this area rely on plants for sustenance and medicine, we decided to use one as a calendar.

In partnership with the Secretary of Health, we identified the poorest communities living around the river to reach women who do not have access to information and consequently do not take the pap test. Our next step was to identify the inefficacy of leaflets and other forms of communication to inform those women who are often illiterate. We needed communication that was constant and symbolic in the lives of these people. After this, our strategy was based on finding cultural elements to remind these women about the importance of taking these exams. Since people in this area rely on plants for sustenance and medicine, we decided to use one as a calendar. Moreover, 3000 health department agents of Pará state were involved in the project serving different tasks such as: providing classes for community leaders, helping women go to local clinics to take the exam, promoting local events to spread awareness and many other activities.